


the art of the compromise

by sarahyyy



Series: Dispute Resolution Verse [1]
Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Take Your Fandom to Work Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 05:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6360760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahyyy/pseuds/sarahyyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You can go ahead and say it,” Enjolras says, scowling lightly as they exit the police station. </p><p>“Say what?” Grantaire asks. </p><p>“That you were right,” Enjolras says tightly. “That I acted rashly. That I should feel thankful that the Thénardiers aren’t pressing charges.”</p><p>Grantaire looks mostly amused. “Well, I don’t have to say it anymore now that you have, do I?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the art of the compromise

**Author's Note:**

> Some glossary terms: **mediation** is dispute resolution process in which an impartial mediator facilitates negotiation between the parties to assist them to resolve their dispute. 
> 
> **ADR** pops up once or twice in the fic too, and it's simply an abbreviation for Alternative Dispute Resolution, of which mediation is the main method. ADR is generally preferred over litigation (actually taking the case to trial) because it's cheaper and more flexible than court proceedings. ~~People picking ADR over litigation is also a thing I do not agree with but hahahaha that's not that point rn so we'll ignore that.~~

“You can go ahead and say it,” Enjolras says, scowling lightly as they exit the police station. 

He’d called Courfeyrac for bail, but of course Courfeyrac would send Grantaire instead after hearing what Enjolras was arrested for. Enjolras doesn’t know why he thought otherwise. 

“Say what?” Grantaire asks. 

“That you were right,” Enjolras says tightly. “That I acted rashly. That I should feel thankful that the Thénardiers aren’t pressing charges.”

Grantaire looks mostly amused. “Well, I don’t have to say it anymore now that you have, do I?” 

Enjolras’ scowl deepens. He really hadn’t been looking forward to facing Grantaire’s smugness, but he doesn’t know if amusement is any better. 

“Look,” Grantaire says gently, “not every case can be solved by ADR.” 

“This was a _textbook_ mediation case,” Enjolras says hotly. “Family disputes are-”

“And look where this textbook mediation case got you?” Grantaire interrupts. The cut on Enjolras’ cheek is still bleeding, so Grantaire reaches into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief, passing it to Enjolras. “For the cut,” he tells Enjolras.” And then, “Do you need medical attention?”

Enjolras shakes his head, and he looks so petulant that Grantaire can’t hide his smile. 

“The Thénardiers are crooks,” Enjolras insists. “Éponine can’t afford the lawsuit.”

“ _Alleged_ crooks. And I know she can’t,” Grantaire says. “They’re her parents. Their intention isn’t to bankrupt her with legal fees, it’s to scare her into submission. It’s obviously a tried-and-true method they like to stick to. This is why mediation would’ve been a bad choice — it’s what the Thénardiers were banking on.” 

Enjolras’ lips part in stunned realisation; he doesn’t know how he could’ve missed something so crucial. “I didn’t think,” he says.

Grantaire snorts. “No, you didn’t,” he agrees, but he doesn’t look chastising, still just mostly amused. 

“But if mediation is out of the question, that leaves us with litigation, and she still can’t afford to go to court,” Enjolras says, and _this_ , this inaccessibility is why he hates the judicial system. “It can’t be that she doesn’t have any options other than to roll over and let her parents bully her into a life of crime.”

“ _Alleged_ life of crime,” Grantaire corrects gently, giving him a look that Enjolras is sure is meant to remind him that the Thénardiers had just threatened to take him to court for defamation too, in addition to his assault charges. 

“ _Grantaire_.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “That was not the point.”

“Then what _is_ your point?” Grantaire asks, feigning innocence. 

“The point,” Enjolras grits out, “is that you’re not taking this seriously, and I know why.”

Grantaire arches an eyebrow at that. “You do, don’t you?”

“Éponine obviously can’t afford your fees, and since mediation is out of the question, you’ve already decided to pawn her off to the legal aid centre,” Enjolras says, and he’s not angry, really, he isn’t, because he understands that Grantaire is running a business, and has to worry about things like billables and overheads, but he also _knows_ that Grantaire is better than this, even if he hasn’t really known Grantaire for long. 

He’s _disappointed_.

Éponine’d said that she felt that Grantaire’d really cared about her case when she first went and saw him; clients are generally very intuitive about things that like, and Éponine’s shown that she’s more than capable of reading a person right in the two weeks that Enjolras has known her. 

“That’s what the legal aid centre is there for, isn’t it? To give free legal services to those who can’t afford it?” 

“They’re also understaffed and underpaid, and Éponine’s case is a labour-intensive one,” Enjolras argues. “So much research and work will have to go into it, and you know that they’ll just put it to one side the first chance they can, and take the first settlement offer that’s on the table. This doesn’t give her the fighting chance she deserves!”

“Is that so?” Grantaire asks.

“You know it is,” Enjolras says. 

“Then you take the case,” Grantaire says casually, and resumes walking, heading for his car.

Enjolras doesn’t move. “What?”

“You’re certified to practise, aren’t you?” Grantaire asks, turning around to look at Enjolras again. “And you don’t mind that it’s a labour-intensive case? Or that she can’t afford to pay you?” 

Enjolras is the first to break eye contact. “I don’t deal with litigation.”

“You used to,” Grantaire says, and he’s still keeping his voice light, like he doesn’t want to scare Enjolras away, like he knows how much Enjolras wants to run away so they don’t have to have this conversation. “And I have it on very good authority that you were pretty damn good at it.”

Enjolras swallows. “I’m not- I haven’t represented a client in court in years.”

“Since you lost the Valjean case,” Grantaire says, nodding, and of course he knows. Enjolras was a fool to think that maybe Grantaire didn’t. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Enjolras snaps. 

“We don’t have to,” Grantaire says with a shrug. “Let’s go back to talking about Éponine instead. Are you taking the case, or am I referring her to the legal aid centre?”

“You can’t force me into-”

“I’m not,” Grantaire says. “You wanted options, I’m giving you options.”

Enjolras draws in a long breath, and for a moment, he thinks about saying yes, thinks about taking on Éponine’s case, thinks about _winning_ it. And then he remembers telling Valjean that everything will be okay, remembers promising Cosette that he’ll get her father’s case dismissed, remembers Valjean’s weak smile and _you did everything you could_ when the judge read out the sentence of nineteen years, and it’s all he can do to not allow his knees to buckle from the nausea he feels. 

He shakes his head. “I _can’t_ ,” he whispers, and balls his fingers into tight little fists just to stop them from trembling. He wishes he could. 

Grantaire, to his credit, doesn’t push the issue. He just takes a long look at Enjolras, and says, “Okay.” 

“I’m sorry,” he says. 

“You have nothing to apologise to me for,” Grantaire says. His face is still carefully blank. It’s a courtroom face, and Enjolras hates how Grantaire is so good at putting it on. 

“I’ll call the legal aid centre tomorrow,” Enjolras says quietly. If he can get Bahorel on the case, as a favour, then perhaps he’ll be able to give Éponine the fighting chance in court she really deserves. 

Grantaire shakes his head. “I’ll take the case.”

Enjolras’ gaze shoots straight to Grantaire. “But she can’t pay-”

“Pro bono,” Grantaire clarifies. And then, “Don’t give me that look, I’m not doing this for you. Although if you can lay off sourcing your ADR clients from my firm for a few weeks, that would be good.”

“You’re not the big, bad, cynical lawyer you pretend to be, are you?” Enjolras says. 

He wonders briefly about what their one blind date would’ve been like if he’d known that Grantaire wasn’t as bad as he made himself out to be. They would’ve gotten along, Enjolras thinks. They may see things differently, may have different approaches to dealing with issues, but at their cores, they have the same values. 

It wouldn’t have been so bad to date Grantaire, he thinks.

“Thank you,” he tells Grantaire. “For taking the case. It means a lot to me.”

Grantaire rolls his eyes. “Every case means a lot to you,” he says, and turns his back to Enjolras, resuming his walk to the car. “Come on, get in the car. The sooner I drop you back home, the sooner you can get started working on Éponine’s case brief for me.”

“Case brief?” Enjolras asks, catching up to Grantaire. 

“Yes,” Grantaire says. “You didn’t think that I would let you rope me into a pro bono without asking for some work on your part too, did you? The case is after all, like you said, labour-intensive, and I refuse to prioritise this one over my actual billable cases. In fact, you know what? You can do all the work for this one, I’ll just show up in court when necessary.”

The corner of Enjolras’ lips curve up despite himself. “You want me to work with you?”

“ _For_ me,” Grantaire corrects, but Enjolras can see the light dusting of pink on Grantaire’s cheek. 

He thinks again that dating Grantaire wouldn’t be bad at all, and smiles to himself as he gets into Grantaire’s car.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [here on tumblr](http://sarah-yyy.tumblr.com), come say hi! :D


End file.
